


Crossroads (A Rhack Fan fiction)

by Violet_Jessamine



Category: Borderlands (Video Games)
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-02-06
Updated: 2019-02-06
Packaged: 2019-10-23 13:44:01
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 6,388
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17684591
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Violet_Jessamine/pseuds/Violet_Jessamine
Summary: A year after opening the Vault of the Traveler, the new CEO of Atlas has got everything figured out. He's surrounded by his best friends, making profit off of the company, and he's even got his own office. Rhys thinks that he's living his dream...until Handsome Jack ends up back in his head.





	1. Chapter 1

Rhys trotted through the hallways of his newly rebuilt company, making his way towards his office. 

“Hey bro!” Vaughn ran up next to him, holding a clipboard with papers on it. 

“I've got a formal request to change the company uniform.”

“What's the popular vote?”

Vaughn flipped through his papers, frowning as he read over the words.

“Hm, looks about the same as normal. I think they just want longer sleeves.”

“Rhys!” Yvette rushed up next to him, diverting Rhys attention.

“Someone keeps stealing our guns.” 

Rhys sighed, signing the uniform document and giving it back to Vaughn.

“Raise security, in fact hire some mercenaries to watch the entrance. Vaughn, I want your best men guarding the vault.” 

Vaughn stopped walking, looking at him confusion. Rhys stopped next to him, frowning as he saw his expression. 

“Not the actual Vault,  _ our _ vault. You know, the one we keep our experimental weapons in?” Rhys looked at Vaughn expectantly, Vaughn's face lit up with clarity. 

“Are you talking about the safe?” Vaughn asked. Rhys shook his head. 

“What? Since when did we call it a safe?” Rhys asked in bewilderment. 

“Maybe since the Vault almost killed all of us. You know, twice.” Vaughn remarked. Rhys sighed. 

“Yeah alright, just get security there.”

Rhys continued to stride through the halls towards his office.

“Yvette,” He called. Yvette ran up next to him once again, patiently awaiting his order.

“Have I got any meetings or anything today?” Rhys asked slowly. Yvette nodded. 

“Actually, there's someone in your office who insisted on speaking with you.” Rhys stopped walking, having reached the door to his office. 

“Get security outside of the door in case anything happens.” Rhys grabbed the handle to his door. 

“Oh and Rhys?” Yvette called. Rhys froze, looking back at Yvette expectantly. She smiled at him gently, the dimples in her cheeks just barely appearing.

“Good luck.” 

Rhys frowned not quite understanding her meaning. Before he could ask what she meant, she had already turned around and began walking the other way. Rhys shook his head. It was probably nothing. She was probably talking about his work on Atlas. Yeah, that had to be it. He pulled open the door, stepping into his office. The room felt tiny to him, but then again, once you've sat in Jack's chair, it's hard to want anything else. The room had a walkway down the middle that led to his desk at the end of the room. That was the neatest thing in there. The room was filled with clutter, tons of random scraps of Helios that Rhys had found interest in. There were a couple of couches near the front of the room along with Rhys’s own chair behind his desk, but other than that there was no place to sit. One of the couches held two men, one blonde and the other a brunette. They were very average looking considering where they were. They both wore pitch black uniforms with gold buttons and highlights. The Atlas logo was spread across each of their chests. Rhys looked between them expectantly. 

“So, you guys need something?” 

The two remained silent, their eyes piercing into Rhys’s gentle gaze. Rhys looked away from them nervously. 

“If you're not here for anything then you should probably leave.” the blonde opened his mouth, speaking slowly but decisively.

“I’m…rooting for you sir.” The man said confidently. Rhys chuckled. 

“Okay, I'm gonna go call secur-”

A needle punctured Rhys’s neck, his words began to slur together and the feeling began to drain from his legs. He dropped to his knees, his hands hitting the ground in an attempt to stay conscious a moment longer. Soon, his arms gave out as well, his face slamming onto the floor as his consciousness escaped him. 

 

***

 

Rhys woke up with a jolt, sitting in a chair opposed to being on the floor. He jumped upon realizing he was awake. His eyes frantically moved around the room, only to find he was still in his office, except no one was there with him. He stood up, his chair hitting an old piece of a Handsome Jack statue with a bang. He stared at the remnant, it was only the bottom half of his head. Vaughn didn't understand why he wanted such a thing so close to his desk. He just didn't understand. Jack may have tried to kill him, hurt him and all his friends, but after everything he went through with him Rhys couldn't believe that Jack never truly trusted him. He kept it around as a symbol of hope more than anything else. Hope that if he saw him again, Jack’d put as much hope into him as he’d put into him.

“Well this is a surprise.” 

Rhys jumped, quickly turning to face the source of the voice. It couldn't be, that sounded like…

“You've got a lot of balls putting me back in your head kiddo.” Handsome Jack ambled towards him, his yellow eyes glowing amidst the light blue that covered the rest of his body. Jack held out his arm, preparing to choke Rhys as he had done when they last met. Rhys stepped back, his foot catching on the edge of the carpet. He tripped backwards, falling onto the statue head he'd been admiring a moment ago. Jack flashed into existence in front of him and laughed.

“Come on Rhysie, aren't cha glad to see your uncle Jack?”

A million different thoughts and ideas were going through his head in that moment. Fear, the most prominent one, but the underlying feeling of awe just beneath it. Jack was here. Standing before him in the way only he'd known him. All he'd ever wanted was to be like him, and yet his piercing yellow eyes shone before him showing nothing but a soulless devil. Rhys closed his eyes, frantically throwing his hands over his head as he began to do the thing he'd always seemed to do in these situations. Beg.

“Please don't kill me!” He shouted. Jack began to laugh again.

“W-we could work together again, I could get you your own body!”

“Wait wait wait,” Jack said, sitting on his feet, his hand clutching his nose as he chuckled to himself. “Are you seriously begging?” Rhys opened his eyes, seeing the pity and disappointment in Jack's face as he laughed at how pathetic he was. He felt an intense feeling of shame pass over him, he had to fix that. 

“L-look, I know what you want Jack.” Rhys slowly sat up, his back leaning on the partial Jack statue behind him. Jack’s laughter faded a little.

“Alright alright, I'll bite.” He pointed at him. “What'd  _ you  _ think  _ I _ want?” 

Rhys took a moment to ensure that what he was about to say was accurate before answering. “You want power.” 

“Wrong cupcake.” He stood up, and Rhys slowly stood with him. “All I want,” Jack smiled. “is for you to pay.” he hissed as he wrapped his fingers around his own throat squeezing his holographic skin to ensure Rhys's death.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rhys heads to the Doctor. Jack gets a little heated.

Rhys flinched instinctively, suddenly scared he'd have to rip his own arm off just to talk with the dethroned king. Then, something happened which shocked both of them. Rhys’s arm didn't move. Jack's hand was around his throat, as it had been the last time they met, but Rhys’s wasn't. Rhys looked between his artificial limb and Jack, who was staring at his hand in confusion. 

“What the-” he stopped himself. “Wait, I know what's wrong.” He switched hands, using his right instead of his left to choke himself. Still, nothing happened. 

“No no no no,” he continued to stare at his hands in disbelief. “You son of a bitch!” He launched himself at Rhys, who quickly jumped out of the way, forgetting that Jack would've only gone through him. Jack stepped out of the statue of himself, angrier than before. He ran at Rhys, looking to topple him onto the ground where he would slowly squeeze the life from his body like he’d done to hundreds of people before. Again, Rhys flinched, his memory failing him as Jack only passed through him. Jack’s hands and knees smacked onto the floor, an urgent sense of panic overcoming him as he slowly came to terms with what was happening. “Fuck,” He cursed. “FUCK!” He was shaking and Rhys began to watch him in horror. His mentor, his idol, the man he strived to be like, was breaking down before him. It was a strange moment of clarity for Rhys. This hero, was just a man. A man with feelings and problems just like him. This didn’t change how he felt about him. How he trusted them all that time ago and he hoped that one day he’d be able to trust him too. At least now, he was closer to that dream than ever. Jack pounded his fist on the ground, letting out his last spark of anger as he began to chuckle. “Well cupcake?” He stood up, turning to face his subordinate. “You got what you wanted. The great  _ Handsome Jack _ is back in your idiotic brain.” He approached him, making a flicking motion in front of his forehead. “Happy?”

Just as he finished speaking, the door to Rhys’s office swung open and Jack fizzled away. About ten Atlas employees, all of which Rhys had assigned to security, and his best friend Vaughn sprinted through the door to find a stunned Rhys standing alone next to his desk. 

“Rhys?!” He ran to his friend grabbing him by the shoulders. Rhys jumped at Vaughns touch. He looked up at his friend, the horror and shock on his face dissolving upon realizing who was touching him. 

“Vaughn?” Rhys called in disbelief. Vaughn smiled, relief washing over him. 

“Hey, really thought I lost you for a minute there.” He let go of his shoulders and Rhys relaxed a little before spotting the security guards staring at him intently. He scowled. 

“Uh Vaughn?” 

“Whats up?” Vaughn asked obliviously. 

“Why aren’t they guarding the entrance?” 

“Who?” Vaughn looked around and caught sight of the guards. “Oh! Them. They actually…” He trailed off, searching for the right words. “Well they…” He trailed off again. Rhys folded his arms, beginning to suspect that he was hesitating because he couldn’t find a lie to tell him. 

“Vaughn, are you lying to me?” 

Vaughn chuckled nervously, his gaze drifting from his friend. “What? No!” He looked back at Rhys to see if he was even remotely convinced. He wasn’t. 

“I thought I heard something in here, so I called them down here.” Vaughn said reluctantly. Rhys scoffed, rolling his eyes as he turned away from him. 

“Hey, I thought you were in trouble alright? And it’s not like you weren’t.” He trailed off for a second, hoping that Rhys would say something in the pause he left for him. He didn’t, so Vaughn continued. “What happened?” Vaughn took a step towards him, trying to get at glance at Rhys’s face. What he couldn’t see was the scowl that Rhys put on his face whenever he was deep in thought. Jack was back in his life for better or worse, and while that could always be a bad thing he was trying not to see it that way. Vaughn and Yvette were always sympathizing with him about what happened. They talked to him like they knew everything that happened, like they understood everything that he did. This was his chance to prove them wrong. If he could work with Jack, get him to understand why people might think the way they do about him, maybe he could get them to understand what really happened. Maybe, he could get Jack to put his faith in him. 

“Rhys?” Vaughn called, pulling him back to reality. He couldn’t tell him. If he told him now, he’d just work to get Jack out of his head. 

“I tripped,” Rhys responded, turning around to face Vaughn. “I actually hit that thing pretty hard.” He said pointing to the fragmented statue behind his chair. Vaughn stared at him, his skepticism obvious. 

“Alright, just let me know if you need anything okay?” 

Rhys nodded in response, and the security detail walked out of the room at the wave of Vaughns hand. Vaughns eyes lingered on Rhys for a moment as he began to walk towards the door. 

“Coming?” He asked. Rhys looked between him and his desk, a little bewildered by the question. “Where are we going?” Rhys asked. Vaughn stopped walking, looking back at him. “You called a meeting?” Vaughn said, but when there wasn’t any clarity in Rhys’s face, he kept talking. “Our innovators have come up with something?” 

“Oh! Right. Wait,” Rhys checked his watch. 

“ _ It’s 4 o'clock already?” _ He thought. He vocalized his confusion. 

“Didn’t I just walk in?” he asked Vaughn. Vaughn shook his head. “No, you’ve been in here for at least the last couple of hours.” He answered without a thought, but Rhys’s expression made him rethink that mistake. 

“Are you sure you’re okay?” 

“Yeah, I’m fine.” He frowned, trying to determine why he didn’t remember that section of time. “A-actually,” Rhys said, rethinking his previous statement. “Maybe Ebony should take a look at me.” 

Vaughn shrugged. 

“You’re the boss.”

 

***

 

“Say Ah!” Dr. Ebony shouted as she put her gloved hands uncomfortably close to Rhys’s mouth. He reluctantly opened his mouth and Ebony shoved both of her fists into his mouth, forcefully keeping it open with her two hands. Rhys groaned, and tried to close his mouth in vain. 

“Come on Rhys,” Ebony’s voice held a ring of disappointment. “You know fighting me isn’t gonna make you feel better.” 

“Ah zuint vei by joutr houing zis.” Rhys said trying to speak with his mouthful of latex gloves. 

“What was that?” Dr. Ebony took her saliva covered hands out of his mouth. Rhys spit into the sink next to the patient chair before repeating what he said. 

“I don’t get why you’re doing this.” He said. “My tooth isn’t hurting again.” 

Ebony smiled at his comment. “You’re right! And good on you for lasting so long without another broken tooth!” 

Just as Rhys opened his mouth to respond, Ebony seized the opportunity and shoved her hands back in between his jaws. 

“But it never hurts to be sure.” She said as she pried his mouth open just enough so she could see his back tooth and keep both her hands on his gums. 

“Yup!” She yanked her hands out suddenly, causing Rhys to slam his teeth into one another. “Your teeth are fine.” 

Rhys clutched his cheek, his teeth weren’t hurting before but they certainly were now. Dr. Ebony spun her wheeled chair around and scooted herself to one of the few computers in the building, which so happened to be in her office. She began typing away at the computer, causing Rhys to stare in disgust.

“Um, aren’t you gonna-”

“Yes Rhys, I  _ am _ going to check out your head.” She turned her head as she typed so she could make eye contact with her patient. “I mean, as much as I love hanging out with you, I  _ do _ have other patients to get to.” 

Rhys thought about correcting her assumption but decided against it. Dr. Ebony had been known to overreact. Only a few months ago she took a hostage and threatened to shoot if no one got her a bag of chips that the vending machine used to dispense. It had broken down that month and employees were putting off fixing it. If they took nothing else from that experience, they’ll definitely make the vending machine a priority. Dr. Ebony spun in her chair again, scooting it back towards Rhys as she grabbed a helmet from the shelf placed between her desk and where Rhys was sitting. 

“Alright,” She mumbled as she pressed a few button on the side of the helmet before holding it out to Rhys. “Put this on.” She said in her cheery tone. Rhys grabbed it from her, and she began spinning back towards her desk. 

“What’s this for?” Rhys asked, turning it over in his hands. It was a very strange looking helmet, one he had never seen before. Rhys scowled. “And where did you get this?” Rhys was in charge of any sort of tech that the employees were allowed to use. If he didn’t provide them with it, someone he knew did. 

“That,” She said attempting to point at the helmet as she faced her computer screen. “Is a scanner of sorts, checks out your whose-what-zits and everything.” A sudden feeling of dread overcame Rhys. If this thing scanned his head, would it find Jack? 

“Well what’re you waiting for silly?” 

Rhys looked up at the doctor. She was turned to face him now, her gloves still dripping with his saliva. Rhys took another moment to consider putting it on.

“A-actually-”

“Oh come on!” She scooted her chair back to Rhys and snatched the helmet from him before banging it onto his head. His skull was vibrating from the hit, and his entire head ached as the helmet began to whir. He could just barely see a blue flicker out of the corner of his eye, his heart dropped into his stomach.

“Whoa! Rhysie what’s that on your head?” Jack asked in excitement. “Wait,” He paused, the skepticism in his voice was audible even over the whirring of the helmet. 

“You’re not trying to get rid of me, are you?” Rhys could hear the underlying anger in his voice and he shook his head frantically. Ebony screamed. 

“Rhys! Keep. Still.” She spoke through gritted teeth, her usual demeanor wavering.

“Good, good.” Jack said, chuckling a little in between words. “I was worried I’d have to kill you for a second there.” 

“Kill me?” Rhys whispered violently. “Haven’t you failed at that twice now?” 

“Hey! Watch it cupcake.” Jack flickered into sight in front of Rhys’s eyes. He was sitting with his legs crossed, floating a few feet in front of him. “Just because I’m not gonna hurt you now, doesn’t mean I can’t change my mind.”

“You can’t-”

“Alright!” Dr. Ebony yelled interrupting his retort. She spun back around, nearly gliding through Jack on her way to Rhys. She grinned widely. 

“Now, that wasn’t so hard was it?” She grabbed the helmet and forcefully yanked it off of Rhys’s head. Rhys nearly fell forward, a sudden wave of dizziness overcoming him. He found himself wishing he didn’t have motion sickness. Jack stood up, on the ground this time, and poked at his head. 

“Hey, you’re starting to look a little green.” Jack didn’t speak out of concern or curiosity. His tone was closer to making fun of him than genuine worry. Rhys tried to focus on the floor patterns to keep from throwing up. 

“No shit.” He mumbled. Ebony’s grin brightened at his words. 

“Always nice to hear such optimism sir!” She spun back around to her computer and began typing away. Jack flickered closer to Ebony, looking her up and down with his hand on his chin.

“So, what’s the story with her?” He asked, staring at the rags that she considered her hair. 

“I’ll tell you later, can we just hold off on catching up until we’re back in my office?” Rhys insisted, struggling to whisper over the nausea. Ebony glanced back at him for a second, causing Rhys to freeze up. She didn’t hear that did she? Jack shrugged. 

“Sure, sure. I mean, it’s not like you’re the suicidal maniac who put me back here right?” 

Rhys didn’t say anything, trying to think of how he would look and act if Jack wasn’t in his head right now. For starters, he probably wouldn’t be staring at a blank wall. He shifted his gaze to Ebony, who had resumed staring at her computer screen. It wasn’t until moments like this that Rhys remembered just how Pandoran Ebony looked. Her hair looked as though someone had gotten a little to excited with a razor blade. Some sections were shaved clean, others were fairly short, and some strands even reached her shoulders. He couldn’t remember if he asked her about it or not, and he also couldn’t think of any better way of filling the silence without making him look crazy. 

“What hap-”

“Whoa!” Ebony exclaimed. She stood up, staring at her computer intently. 

“What is it?” Rhys asked as he attempted to get a peek at her screen. She didn’t respond, something Rhys had never known her to do. She just gazed at the screen in wonder. Jack took a glance, before folding his arms. 

“No idea kiddo, it’s just medical mumbo jumbo to me.” He said turning to Rhys as he spoke. Ebony turned off her monitor, and turned around to face him. 

“Well,” Her eyes drifted to the floor, her mind clearly distracted from her patient. “I’ve discovered something quite interesting that you…” She trailed off, her sight catching the window on the far wall by the door. Rhys glanced at the empty window, and then back at her in confusion. She was completely frozen in place. He couldn’t tell if it was a medical issue or if she was just afraid. 

“Careful Rhysie,” Jack said, his holographic form standing next to Ebony. “Not that I care or anything, I’m just not in the mood to die yet.” He added nervously, trying to recover from what could’ve been considered concern. Rhys looked at him in confusion, trying to keep the smile off his face. Jack glanced back at Rhys, scowling as he saw his face. “What?”  

“Um,” Ebony finally spoke. “Your brain! Right, we were talking about your brain.” She spoke slowly, as if she were recapping herself and the check up they had been doing had actually happened a week ago. She stepped away from her desk, looking a bit dazed as she approached Rhys. 

“You’re fine! Surprisingly enough.” She stopped in front of Rhys, her usual smile shifted into a nervous glance away from him. “As for the lost time, I found traces of Etorphine swimming around in your brain juices.” Rhys stared at her blankly, waiting for her clarification. It was only a moment before she caught on. “A sedative, works instantaneously and can knock out the average male for hours at a time.” She crossed her arms. “Consider yourself lucky you were only out for a couple of hours.” She began tapping her foot impatiently as Rhys stared at her doubtfully. Ebony had grown up this on planet, something as small as a drug in his system wouldn’t be worth freaking out over. Especially by her standards. 

“What about-” 

“Yes thank you for stopping by sir but I’m afraid I have more patients in this building than you,” She took a step back and held her arm outstretched towards the door. “If you would.” The implication was more than enough for Rhys. She didn’t need to finish her sentence. Rhys stood up, a little bewildered, and made his way out of Ebony’s clinic.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A truce is made and questions are asked.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Whoa jeez, sorry for the late chapter post. I actually kinda forgot I was writing this. Ah well, I'm gonna try and put up some reg chapters on this cause I actually kinda like this one. But enough of my blabbering on with the show.

Rhys slammed the door to his office, making sure to lock it behind him before he leaned back on the closed door. He sighed. He might’ve been the CEO of an up and coming company, but he’d never had a day this exhausting. At least not since the Vault. Everything that happened seemed to be coming at him in a blur from a completely random angle. It wasn’t making sense, and he didn’t like that. Maybe Jack would have some answers. 

“So, we’re just gonna ignore the fact that your doctors a homicidal maniac?” Jack said, having just appeared next to Rhys. “I mean, I’d expect her to be working at some  _ bandit  _ town but here?” He shook his head, and Rhys stood up straight, relaxing a little. 

“To be honest Rhys, I’m a little disappointed.” Jack finished. 

“She’s not crazy,” Rhys said defending his doctor as he made his way towards his desk. Jack laughed.

“You’re kidding right? People like her are why I was trying to fix this planet.” His joking tone shifted a little, as if he had stopped laughing at Rhys and started to threaten him again. Even though the words themselves weren’t very menacing. Rhys noticed his shift in tone and took the opportunity to change the subject as he sat down on his desk opposed to in his chair.

“Jack, do you remember anything after Helios?” He asked methodically, trying not to push any unnecessary buttons. Jack was caught off guard by the question, his brain was still on Pandora and how even he couldn’t civilize it in the end, so he took a second before answering. 

“Well, I remember thinking you were dead and I was done for,” He began to pace back and forth in front of him, counting off each thing he remembered. “I remember trying to sympathize with you, and oh yeah I remember you pulling me out of existence.” His voice was soaked in anger as he ended the sentence. 

“What was I supposed to do huh? Let you kill me?”  Rhys argued, trying to keep his voice down in the fear that someone would hear him. Jack teleported in front of him, his arms folded as he made his retort. “Hey dumbass, I didn’t tell you to trust me.” He started to laugh. “I mean, I was going to kill you literal  _ minutes _ before then, and still!” 

“Oh I’m sorry for thinking that maybe you’d changed.” Rhys spat, standing up off of the desk. “You call yourself the hero of the story, but what kind of hero kills innocents? What kind of hero is willing to kill himself over nothing?!” His voice was raising, his entire point of focus having turned to Jack instead of anything outside the office. He forgot how Jack did this, how he could make his blood boil. He hated how easy that was for him. Jack chuckled softly, a hint of sadness appearing on his face. 

“Maybe one day you’ll learn kiddo,” Jack was sitting in Rhys’s chair, his hands behind his head and his feet on the desk. Rhys turned around to face him. Jack smirked. 

“It’s not always as simple as the press writes it.” There was a pause, his last words sinking into the atmosphere of the room and effectively destroying the tension and leaving Rhys feeling a little sorry for the hologram before him. He was misunderstood, he may have done some bad things but there was reason behind it. He wasn’t as bad as they-

_ “You think you can take ME out, you little shit?!” _

Jacks words rushed back to him, along with the memory of his own artificial limb wrapped around his throat without the hopes of ever letting go. 

_ “This! This is what commitment looks like, you little fraud!” _

Moments before he said that to him, he made him trust him again, only for him to choke him in the end. How many times would he fall into the same trap before he finally learned?

“How gullible do you think I am Jack?” Rhys asked, his anger just barely showing in his words. Jack looked up at him, his expression still in a bit of a daze having just been lost in his own thoughts. It was a moment before Jack saw how Rhys was looking at him. He was pushing away his remorse and acting how he thought he was supposed to act. Jack resisted the urge to smile, he’d seen that look in the mirror just after his first wife died. It was a little nostalgic. 

“Listen Rhysie,” he lowered his feet and took his hands out from behind his head placing them instead on his knees, leaning forward as he talked. “Even if I wanted to hurt you, which I don't,” he added quickly making a bit of a waving gesture with his hand. “I can’t touch you, which would kinda make killing you a bit harder.” Rhys found himself trying to think of a way that Jack could kill him without using his robotic arm to strangle him. He could always hack into the Atlas computers, but they weren’t on a central network yet and even if they were most of the building wasn’t powered by any sort of computer. Rhys folded his arms, he hated to admit it but Jack had a point. 

“So what if you can’t kill me?” Rhys retorted trying to keep his argument valid. “That doesn't mean-”

He was interrupted by Jacks booming laughter which made Rhys jump a little. Jack nearly fell out of Rhys’s chair as blue holographic tears began flowing down his face. “Holy shit Rhysie,” He said barely breathing through his laughter. “What’d you think I’m gonna do?!” 

“I  _ think _ you’re gonna go on another killing spree.” Rhys spat. Jack took a few breaths, still recovering from his previous burst of laughter, before responding. 

“D-didn’t we already go over this?” He stuttered a little, still kind of chuckling to himself. 

“I can’t touch you,” He said in a bit of a matter of fact tone. “As fun as it might be, I can’t satisfy all your kinks cupcake.” He winked, a smirk the most prominent detail on his face. Rhys scoffed, turning away from Jack in frustration, only to find he was now standing right in front of him. 

“Alright alright, I get it.” He folded his arms, his demeanor not quite anything out of the ordinary. He wasn’t wearing his usual cocky grin but he wasn’t angry either. “You don’t trust me, not without reason of course.” Rhys stared at him impatiently. He was listening, if only out of curiosity and maybe a bit of hope that he would say something redeeming. Jack continued. 

“I mean, if I were you I wouldn’t trust me either. So, how about this?” Jack let his arms fall to his side in a more relaxed posture than before. “Instead of doing this whole I-don’t-trust-you, you-don’t-trust-me thing, let’s just swear on it.” Jack reappeared on top of Rhys’s desk, his hand on his chest and his eyes closed. 

“I solemnly swear that I will not try to kill you, or anyone else in Atlas.” He said mockingly, in his best patriotic voice. Rhys had turned around to face him, his arms unfolding after he spoke. He wasn’t convinced, but Jack couldn’t see that.

“Happy?” Jack asked expectantly. Rhys’s frown devolved into a look of sympathy as he considered his words. He wanted to believe him, even if his promise was a little hokey, but he knew he had to be lying. He had everything to gain from getting on Rhys’s good side, and absolutely nothing to lose. Yet, he  _ wanted _ to believe him. He wanted to be able to put his faith in him once again without getting another stab wound in his back. Was there anything he could say that might ensure that? He smirked, maybe there  _ was _ one thing.

“You swear?” Rhys asked for confirmation.

“Yup.”

“Seriously?”

Jack teleported in front of Rhys’s face, floating as he sat with his legs crossed.

“Cross my heart and hope to die.” He drew an imaginary x over his heart. Rhys smiled victoriously as he began to lean back on his left foot.

“Swear on Angel?” 

Jacks eyes widened a little in shock, he wasn’t expecting that. His eyes drifted to the floor, and his voice started to take the same sad tone from that day on the remains of Helios. “Rhysie, that’s-”

“Do you swear?” 

Jack scowled, noticing his approach wasn’t working. So he tried a different one. His yellow eyes started to glow. “Oh so you think you're in charge here huh Rhysie?” His voice echoed throughout Rhys's head like a nightmare. He teleported on top of the desk again. “Like you're the king of the damn mountain?!” He shouted. Rhys stopped smiling, but he stood his ground. 

“Do. You. Swear?” He repeated sternly. A look of shock flashed over Jack's face, before he continued his argument. 

“So as soon as you get a little power you forget about the guy that got you there?” Jack shouted. “ _ I  _ WAS THE ONE WHO GOT YOU HERE!” He screamed, jabbing his finger onto his chest for emphasis. “IF IT WEREN'T FOR  _ ME _ , YOU WOULDN'T EVEN HAVE A CHAIR TO SIT IN!”

Everything in Rhys was telling him to cower and give in to Jack's will, but he couldn't. If he gave in now, he'd never find that good side of Jack that he'd been missing. No, if he wanted that, they'd need to trust each other. Rhys turned around, taking long strides towards the double doors of his office. Jack teleported next to him, leaning up against the wall as he watched him.

“Fine, go crying to Vaughn about me. What do I care?” Jack mumbled, although it started to sound like he was trying to convince himself towards the end. Rhys stopped, glancing back at his mentor as he pouted in frustration. It was a little disappointing to see him like that, but he'd rather see him pout then see him try to kill everyone again. Even so, he couldn't help but feel a little bad.

“Jack?” Rhys called after a short pause. Jack didn't take his eyes off the ground, his arms still folded as he tried to ignore Rhys. 

“Look, you're only staying in my head if I know I can trust you.” Rhys said sympathetically. “So could you please just say it and get this over with?” Rhys was asking him, but Jack heard him begging. He unfolded his arms, looking up at Rhys as he changed his tone. “Alright alright, I'll swear.” He said in exasperation, trying to act like he was over the whole encounter.

“On Angel?”

“Yeah, I swear on Angel.” Jack said trying to shrug it off. There was a pause between the two of them, as Rhys waited for him to say something else. When nothing was said, he spoke up.

“You swear that…”

“Jesus kid you want me to recite the whole National anthem?” Jack asked in what could've been confused for an apologetic tone. He rolled his eyes. “I swear on my dead daughter Angel that I won't try to kill you or anyone else in Atlas.” He said slowly and almost a little sarcastically. Rhys smiled.

“There, that wasn't so hard was it?” 

Jack mumbled an inaudible retort as he stopped leaning on the wall and began to pace. He was getting lost in his thoughts, even Rhys could tell that much, his mind drifting to a place it hadn't been in a long while. Rhys tried not to watch him too closely, worried he might call him out if he noticed his staring, but he’d never seen him like this before. He’d never seen him so...restrained. He wasn’t yelling, he wasn’t trying to manipulate him with fake emotions, he wasn’t even making some quip about their situation. He was just pacing, thinking, mumbling a little as if Rhys weren’t there. It was a little out of character of the Jack Rhys knew. He resisted the urge to smile, he was getting somewhere. Jack was finally showing his true colors to him. If he could get Jack to open up to him like that, it wouldn’t be impossible to think that he could open up to Yvette and Vaughn like that right? The thought gave him a little hope for the coming days. Maybe the future where Jack trusted him wasn’t as far away as he thought. He smiled just as Jack looked up at him.

“Go ahead, laugh all you want Rhysie.” He had stopped pacing. “You'll be where I am soon enough.” 

Rhys scowled, but before he could question him, he remembered the reason they had started this conversation in the first place. 

“What’d you remember after Helios?” Rhys asked. Jack shrugged, trying to move past his previous thoughts.

“You’re gonna have to be more specific Rhysie.” 

“Before you were back inside me.” He had only said the sentence for a half a moment before he changed it. “I-i mean, in my head! My cybernetics!” He spoke frantically. He didn't mean for it to sound like that, and he really hoped Jack would just let the conversation go. Jack smirked, but let the statement go.

“I didn't see anything. Some guys pocketed me before I could get a glance at who they were.”

Rhys unfolded his arms, a moment of clarity coming to him. He rushed over to the shelf that decorated one of the walls of his office, getting a look at the ECHO eye he had kept on the shelf. He scowled, and Jack noticed. 

“What?” Rhys didn't respond at first, so he added. “What is it?”

Rhys picked up the eye, and examined it closely, looking for any sort of inconsistencies. Disappointment found him as he realized there were none. He set the eye back down.

“That's… weird.” Rhys commented. 

“Enough with the crypticism Cupcake.” Jack finally said. 

“If someone took the eye, then why is it still here?” Rhys asked. 

“Hey dipshit!” 

Jack tried whacking the back of his head, before realizing he was still intangible. Rhys noticed, and exchanged a look with him in a moment of awkward silence. Jack shook it off and continued speaking. “ _ I’m an AI. _ I can be transferred to your cybernetics as easy as a bandit can kill a child.” 

Rhys considered the possibility. Whoever drugged him only had a couple hours to transfer the AI before he woke up. He tried to remember how many people were in his office before Jack was back in his head. 

2?

Maybe 3 people?

He shook his head. 

“They'd need at least ten people to transfer an AI as complex as you in 2 hours.” Rhys thought aloud. He noticed the impatient look on Jack's face, and added. “There were only two or three men who knocked me out.” He had forgotten that Jack wasn't there for that. It honestly felt like he'd been there for weeks, even though it hadn't even been a day. Jack crossed his arms. 

“So how'd they do it cupcake?” 


End file.
